Page 9 of Vanishing Legacy

“Stop!” Alana yelled, chasing after the man.

He was wearing a dirty white T-shirt, motorcycle boots, and jeans so loose he was in danger of losing them. The veins in his neck corded, making the scorpion tattoo under his ear appear to be moving. Long blonde hair snaked around his arm and flapped in the wind.

Rocco didn’t have blond hair.

Her bare feet dug into the grass faster and faster until she was only a few feet behind. She closed the distance. Waited for the right moment. When he was midstep, she reached out and caught his foot as it came up behind him. It was enough to throw him off-balance. Momentum did the rest. He stumbled and fell forward, landing on his face.

Alana was over him, wrenching the little girl out of his hands. The crying girl wrapped herself around Alana and squeezed her neck. Her tiny body wracked with sobs.

The man with the scorpion tattoo staggered to his feet. His chest heaved with each breath. He shuffled backward and pointed at Alana. “You ain’t seen the last of me. That money’s mine, and I ain’t givin’ it up just ’cause a dumb broad stuck her nose where it don’t belong!” He stabbed a thick finger in the air. “I’ll get you. I know where you live, and one way or another, I’ll get you!”

Police sirens pierced the air somewhere in the distance. The man took off running. He rounded the corner of the house and disappeared.

Alana was breathing too hard to speak. She held tight to the girl with one arm and kept her gun aimed in the man’s direction. He knew where she lived. He knew…where she lived.

He would be back.

Rocco! She had to find her son. She lowered her gun but didn’t holster it. The warm, wet spot on her shoulder registered. The tears had soaked through her shirt. “It’s okay, baby girl. We’re okay. I’ve got you.”

She reached for her phone, but it wasn’t in her pocket. Either she’d left it inside, or it was somewhere in the yard. She couldn’t waste time looking. Rocco could be hurt. He could be…no. She wouldn’t go there.

The girl clung to her neck as Alana ran to the shed. She pulled the door open with her heel and used her hip and shoulders to wiggle it open.

“Rocco! Where are you?”

“Mom!” Rocco was at her side. Arms around her waist. Head buried in her stomach. “Mom, I was so scared. I tried to stop him, but I…I couldn’t.” His words rushed out.

She holstered her gun and set the little girl down, but the girl’s arms snaked around Alana’s leg and squeezed. “It’s okay, baby. Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?” He looked okay, but she ran a hand over his head in a cursory inspection.

Rocco shook his head. “I was doing my homework at the table when I saw her crawl through the hole under our fence and run in here. She looked so scared, so I came outside to see what was wrong. Then that scary dude came in and said he was taking her. I wanted to stop him, but?—”

“I know.” She kissed his forehead and hugged him tight. “You did your best, but he was much bigger than you. Bigger than me too. He’s gone and everyone is safe. We’ll go inside and call the police. See if we can find her family.”

A muffled whimper came from the child at her side. For the first time, Alana really looked at the little girl. Cerulean blue eyes peered out from a rat’s nest of long blonde hair that fell around her shoulders. Mud caked her pants, the shoe missing from her left foot. Didn’t she have both shoes earlier?

“What about you, baby girl? Did the man hurt you?” She brushed the tangles out of her face. A delicate puffiness encircled her red-rimmed eyes. The child looked exhausted.

“That man bad. He good.” She pointed at Rocco. “Him’s friend. Him’s help.”

“Yes, Rocco is a very brave boy. You’re safe and we’re both going to help you. My name is Alana. Can you tell us your name?”

She ducked her chin and pinched her lips with two fingers. Shy all of a sudden. “I Penny,” she whispered.

“Wow, what a pretty name.” Alana had pegged Penny at six or seven years old, but her verbal skills appeared delayed. It could be the trauma, though. The brain did weird things when it came out of an adrenaline dump.

Her own body had the jitters. She managed to keep her voice calm, but her insides crackled with energy. She had to get the kids inside in case that guy decided to come back.

She hoisted Penny and settled her on her hip. “C’mon. I want us to hurry inside.”

Alana scanned the backyard. All clear. She carried the little girl in one arm and wrapped her other around Rocco’s shoulder.

Rocco stiffened and stepped in front of her. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll protect you.”

That was her son. Courageous to the core. Fearless enough to stand up to anyone if it meant protecting another. Even a grown man.

A grown man who knew where they lived.

And promised he’d be back.